Summit County Council committee approves CSB loan
By Kathleen Folkerth
DOWNTOWN AKRON — A Summit County Council committee on Nov. 20 approved a $4 million loan to the Summit County Children Services Board (CSB) to be used to avoid proposed layoffs at the agency.
The Human Services Committee unanimously recommended Council adopt the resolution earmarking the funds for the loan at its meeting next week.
“It becomes more apparent every day that if CSB does these layoffs, it will affect services for children,” said Councilman Pete Crossland (D-District 4). “This is a way for us to say, ‘We don’t want you to do these layoffs and we’ll back you up.’”
CSB representatives appeared
before the committee two weeks earlier and said they
didn’t want the money.
Board Chairwoman Cindy Johnson
said the board’s plan to eliminate 52 positions,
40 of which are currently filled, is prudent and shows
the agency is a good steward of funds.
No one spoke before the committee
Monday regarding the legislation.
Councilman Nick Kostandaras (D-District
1) said the CSB proposal is “a tough issue.”
“I would impress upon the
board and acting director to not have any layoffs,”
he said, urging them instead to consider employee buyouts.
Committee Chairwoman Paula Prentice
(D-District 8) agreed.
“The idea of laying people
off is premature,” she said, adding that Chief
Operating Officer Katerina Papas has been at the helm
of the agency just a few months.
CSB will most likely attempt
to get an operating levy on the ballot for 2007, which
is why Council has been concerned about the proposed
layoffs.
The $4 million are unappropriated
funds in the General Fund that will be earmarked for
the sole use of CSB for operating expenses for fiscal
year 2008, according to the legislation.
In other business, the Personnel
and Intergovernmental Committee
discussed a substitute ordinance regarding county employees
donating their sick time to other employees and placed
it on second reading.
The fate of the legislation is
uncertain, though, as Linda Phelps, director of budget
and finance for Summit County Executive James McCarthy,
indicated the changes being made to the current plan
aren’t doable.
Currently, county employees can
donate sick leave, but only to coworkers in their department.
The legislation seeks to change that so all county employees
can donate to anyone in any department on an hour-by-hour
basis.
Phelps told the committee there
are some concerns about swapping hours from different
departments since employees are paid out of funds from
different sources.
“This needs to be worked
on a little more,” Phelps said. “We have
a program now. If there needs to be fine-tuning, I could
suggest some amendments.”
Committee member Michael Callahan
(R-at large), who introduced the legislation, asked
Phelps if she simply disagrees with the proposal.
“I disagree with the
concept of saying we can donate
hours without money [being involved],” she said.
Leonard Foster, director of human
resources for McCarthy, said about 10 employees used
donated sick time this year.
The Planning, Buildings and Economic
Development Committee discussed and placed on second
reading a resolution that aims to forgive all debt owed
to the county by the Summit County Agricultural Society
in connection with construction of its arena at the
Summit County Fairgrounds.
The proposal is sponsored by
Councilman Tim Crawford (D-District 7), who said the
legislation breaks down previous legislation passed
by Council, which was vetoed by McCarthy and then reintroduced
to Council this fall.
Some committee members wanted
to know if anything has been done to encourage communication
between the society and McCarthy.
“We need to get people
to the table,” said Committee Chairman Paul Gallagher
(D-at large). “What’s needed is for the
parties to meet.”
Phelps said while that isn’t
planned, she has been in talks with The Ohio State
University Extension about using
their knowledge to help the society with its management
of the Summit County Fair.
“They are putting in writing
how they do this process and getting people who are
experts,” Phelps said.
“We will not allow the
extension service to oversee a local fair,” Crawford
said.
“They’re not going
to run the county fair,” Phelps said. “They
have facilitated in at least two other counties. They
are well-respected, and that’s why we’ve
turned to them.”
The Rules Committee unanimously
recommended Council approve a settlement with James
Farrance, a former employee of the Summit County Animal
Control facility, in return for him dismissing all charges
against the county.
According to the legislation,
Farrance filed a lawsuit against the county, which is
pending before Judge James Gwin in the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Farrance had
made claims that animals in the facility were being
euthanized improperly.
Summit County Council is scheduled
to meet Nov. 27 at 5:30 p.m. for caucus and 6 p.m. for
the Council meeting in Council Chambers on the seventh
floor of the Ohio Building,
175 S. Main St.
|
